One of the very first non-fiction books I ever read was called, "Life With Billy" by Brain Vallee, I believe. It was about a Nova Scotia woman who was standing trial for murdering her husband. During the trial, details of the horrific and sadist abuse she had suffered at his hands came to light. The debate about her crime then shifted to whether or not the taking of someone's life is ever justifiable. In this case, the consensus was that the abuse was so extreme and cruel that, in the end, no one could really blame her for her act; that it was, ultimately, self-defense.......even though Billy was drunk and passed out in his truck when she used a shotgun to blow his head clean off of his shoulders. I was thinking of her and, of the many other types of victims who have suffered torment of one sort or another and have lived to fight back, when I chose to write this piece. God Bless all of the survivors. <3